


How to escape a black hole

by RowanAndWitchcraft



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Drugs, Explicit Language, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowanAndWitchcraft/pseuds/RowanAndWitchcraft
Summary: When a mysterious stranger comes one random night to the bar she works at and offers Luffy and his gang a suspicious alliance, she can’t help but think that things are about to reach a whole new level of hecticness.But then someone brings up the fact that the butt of the plan is to take down the infamous drug lord known as Joker, and that’s an opportunity she cannot let go to waste.A modern gang AU.
Relationships: Trafalgar D. Water Law/Original Female Character(s), Trafalgar D. Water Law/Reader
Comments: 23
Kudos: 58





	1. Never judge a book by its cover

‘Rowdy’ was an adjective that could very well be used to describe the Thousand Sunny on an average night. The atmosphere of the bar was cosy and easy-going, and, since the place was fairly small for a bar, it got crowded pretty easily, specially on weekends. The usual clients were a raucous bunch, to top it off, so one could frankly say that night shifts were never boring. Even if fights broke out quite often and some people there were perverts more often than not, at least things were interesting, to say the least.

She had been working at the Thousand Sunny for a couple of years, and while it was far, far away from being her dream job, it paid the bills and the people she got to know were genuine ‒which, in a city plagued by filthy lowlifes and immoral thugs, was as likely as winning the lottery while being struck by lightning. Nami had gotten her the job, since she knew Franky, the owner, pretty well. She had to admit that the first time the redhead had introduced him to her, she had almost burst running in the opposite direction. Tall, broad-shouldered and with a strong chin, the most eye-catching feature of the man hadn’t even been his bright blue hair styled into a gravity-defying quiff, but the fact that he was wearing a black thong, and nothing more from the waist down.

However, Franky had turned out to be one of the best people she had ever encountered in that gods-forsaken city of depravity. Fun-loving and genuine, he had promptly adopted the role of older brother instead of boss, because that was just how laid-back he was in life. He let her keep all the tips the customers gave her, didn’t get angry if she got a little chatty with someone at the bar while working, and gladly gave her days off if she even needed them. All in all, she thought that she could have taken advantage of the situation ‒a permissive boss like that meant a degree of freedom that she was eager to exploit‒ but ultimately decided on the contrary. After all, just because there was an overpopulation of shitty people in the world, that didn’t mean she had to add her name to the list.

The hard truth about the place they lived in was that good people didn’t usually make it very far. They were trampled over and crushed under the ones that were ruthless enough as to pursue their true ambitions at whichever cost. Deception, treason and cruelty were the absolute laws that ruled the world, and only those who played by those terms survived at the end of the day.

That was a lesson she had learned very early on in her life, back when she had met Nojiko and Nami. The three of them had been such traumatized little children, cowering before the adults and struggling to find any resemblance of stability anywhere they could. Bellemere’s assassination had been a terrible occurrence in their lives, and even though she hadn’t been as close to the woman as her two adopter daughters, she had felt her death deeply. So, when Nami had gone and joined the same gang responsible for her mother’s murder, Nojiko had been enraged at first. Time cleared out the truth of the situation ‒that Nami was nothing more than a hostage trying to play hero to the people she loved the most, only to end up played by the same man that had practically enslaved her. Nojiko had supported her sister though the years, always trying to convince her to leave Arlong’s gang and flee. But the bastard’s blackmail game was strong, and so Nami’s predicament had continued for years.

That is, until the leader of a fresh gang nobody had ever heard of, known as Straw Hat, had found the redhead and offered his help. The headlines of the local newspapers had been on fire for weeks, talking about the fact that a gang of barely five members had defeated one of the most feared criminals in East District. It was no surprise, then, that Nami had joined yet another gang, but this had nothing to do with the previous one. Nojiko had told her that she had met the kid ‒’ _a kid running a gang, really?_ ’‒, and he had struck her as a genuinely good person. Plus, he cared for Nami, and that was way more than they could have hoped for at that point in life.

That had happened roughly two years ago. In the meantime, Nojiko and herself had rented an apartment together in the Paradise District, started working random jobs to make ends meet, and enjoying the little things in life every time they got the chance.

She had started working for Franky on the night shift, and eventually had met the rest of Nami’s friends. Luffy, the young man that had helped her out when she had needed it the most. Zoro, a man that looked down-right frightening, but that could blush faster than a schoolgirl if one knew what buttons to press. Sanji, a little perverted shit that turned out to be an extraordinary chef. Usopp, the cowardly youngster with a heart of gold. Chopper, the teen that had almost given her a heart attack when he had claimed to be a part of Luffy’s gang, because of how cute and innocent he looked ‒in fact, he could swear like a sailor, but didn’t do it often. Franky, her boss. Robin, the beauty with brains that reminded her so much of Nami, except for the dark humour. And, finally, Brook, an old, soft-spoken gentleman that turned out to be an experienced mobster that loved women’s undergarments.

Life had been good, or as good as it could get in the city. Even among the criminal gangs raiding the place, the murders, the drug epidemic and the rampant corruption in the government that allowed all that to happen with little to no consequences, she had managed to find a rhythm among chaos.

Now, she was busy behind the bar cleaning some tube glasses. An upbeat tune came from the piano in the far corner, where Brook was playing one of his own songs. She quietly hummed along the melody, for she had heard it before. The place was almost empty, except for Luffy’s gang and a few other people. At one of the tables, she saw Chopper and Usopp arguing over how their leader had eaten all the chips, so she smiled and made a mental note of preparing some more in the kitchen.

"Hey, girlie!”, Franky called, leaning over the bar to get her attention. “How’s it going over here?"

“Just fine, boss”, she replied, enjoying the man’s liveliness.

"That’s super! We were wondering if you could fetch us another round at table three, actually”, he winked.

"Sure thing. Coming right up!”

“You’re the best!”

When Franky turned around and started making his way back to the table while doing some strange dance moves, she got to work on the order. Most of them drank beer, but some, like Nami, were a little pickier. So she started by making her a sex-on-the-beach. Then, peach-flavoured soda for Chopper, because he was still _very much underage_ , and‒

She turned around when the front door suddenly flew open. From the street came a gust of chilly wind, and by the long coat that the newcomer was wearing it had to be cold out there. He was tall, very tall, and wore a hat that shadowed most of his facial features. But, in spite of that, it was painfully clear that he was scanning the room in search of something ‒or someone. When his eyes landed on her, she couldn’t repress a shiver, for they were hard and cold and were addressing her like she wasn’t even a person. In a handful of long strides, he was at the bar, and thanks to the sudden proximity she could discern the dark circles under his eyes and the tattoos all over his hands, and _was that the word ‘death’_? There had to be a limit on how shady someone could actually look.

He opened his mouth to speak, and she was already half-scared of what he was going to say.

"I’m searching for‒”

“Tra-guy!”

Luffy, the one to cry out, wasted no time sauntering towards the bar and jump on the mysterious stranger, that looked none too pleased with that. In fact, if looks could kill, she reckoned the Straw Hat would be a thousand times long gone.

"For the last time, Straw Hat-ya, it’s _Trafalgar_.”

If she were drinking, she would have choked.

"Yeah, yeah, what did I say?”, was Luffy’s oblivious response. He had totally ignored, or simply not acknowledged, the heated glare that was being sent his way. “Come sit with us!”

' _No! Don’t sit with anyone!_ ’ was what she mentally screamed, but her mouth remained shut. It wasn’t every day that a Warlord entered the bar she was working at and was treated like a long-time friend by a young man with a total lack of self-preservation instinct.

Giving her one last sidelong glance, Trafalgar Law followed Luffy to their table. There, he was welcomed by the gang like they all knew he would be coming.

She felt her spine stiffen. How hadn’t anyone thought about warning her beforehand? Sure, most of them were idiots of some kind or another, but Nami? She was supposed to be her friend, for fuck’s sake. She knew how much she feared and despised underground gangs ‒the Straw Hats being the obvious exception. They ruled the city like it was their personal playground, with no regards toward its inhabitants whatsoever. And Trafalgar Law, despite being fairly young, had become one of the most feared gang leaders in all the six districts. She hadn’t recognised him when he had crossed the threshold, but the general description and his name being uttered by his own lips certainly rang a bell in her head. A danger bell, to be exact.

And now she was supposed to serve him drinks?

The world had gone insane. There was no other explanation.

Saying all kind of profanities in her head, and damning her lucky star to hell and back, she took the platter and approached the table with their drinks.

“So”, she heard Sanji say after taking a deep drag from his cigarette. “Since we’re all finally here, I’d like to know what all this fuss is about. Speak up, weirdo.”

If the look on Trafalgar’s face was anything to go by, he wasn’t exactly thrilled by the name-calling, but he let it slip. In turn, he chose to observe her from the corner of his eye while she put the drinks on the table, careful to not make eye contact.

"You can talk”, said Nami, having picked on the mood. “It’s safe to speak in front of her. We trust her, so you should, too.”

“Yeah! Sunny’s alright!”

She rolled her eyes at Luffy’s outburst. One would think that, after all the years since they had met, he would have bothered to learn her name, but then one would have been wrong. Well, at least he had stopped referring to her as ‘bar girl’ some time ago, so there was at least that.

' _Maybe I should be mad that he calls me the same as the bar… But that’s just how he is, I guess._ ’

Trying not to let her mild annoyance show ‒laced though as it was with affection for the boy’s antics‒, she winked in Nami’s direction and went back to the bar. It felt good, knowing that they trusted her with their secrets, but she judged it best not to get on the Warlord’s bad side. If she wasn’t welcomed, she wouldn’t stay longer than necessary.

She took her time making sure every other table was served, although there weren’t many patrons left. Apart from the Straw Hats, Bartolomeo occupied a stool in the far end of the bar, alternating between drinking and glaring at Trafalgar from a distance. Eventually, though, he paid and left, so the Thousand Sunny was practically empty.

Seeing as there wasn’t much work, she entered the kitchen. Maybe the guys would like some hot wings and onion rings? Sure, she was no Sanji, but she knew her way around the cooker. Humming quietly, she got to work.

Fifteen minutes later, the food was ready. After everything was arranged in the tray, she walked towards table three with a smile on her face, already imagining Luffy’s cries of joy at seeing the improvised meal.

But what she got upon coming closer was very different.

"Are you sure about this, boss?”, Robin addressed Luffy with a serious expression, which set off all the alarms in her head. “This kind of alliances usually end in betrayal of some sort. It isn’t uncommon for allied gangs to become mortal enemies over time.”

She stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded.

 _'Did I hear correctly? Can they possibly be discussing and alliance with Trafalgar’s gang?_ ’

Honestly, she couldn’t think of many ideas worse than that.

As far as she knew, both the Straw Hat and the Heart gangs couldn’t be more different. Luffy’s usually liked to wreak havoc in the underworld and make money from clandestine fights. Trafalgar’s gang, on the other side, was famous for trafficking with human organs and other conspicuous goods in the black market. Also, its boss was said to be vicious towards his enemies and generally ruthless in his ways.

‘ _Nothing like Luffy and the others, that’s for sure._ ’

“It would be something temporary. We’re talking about an alliance, not a merger.” Trafalgar sounded very bored, even though his eyes were carefully trained on each and every one of the Straw Hats. “We will each partake in our usual activities, and the profits will not be shared.”

Nami seemed to deflate a little at that last part, no doubt mourning for a lost business opportunity.

There was a little pause then, so she took the chance to finally approach them.

"I hope you don’t mind, guys, but I made you something to eat.”

As expected, Luffy almost jumped out of his seat in excitement, but the others looked a little too grim for her liking. It was clear that the matter at hand was a serious one, even if the boss of the Straw Hats didn’t take it very seriously.

She started putting the plates on the table.

"And you’re saying this alliance will be over as soon as we take Joker down?”

A loud crash surprised everyone when one of the plates hit the floor, her included. She looked up in horror just to see all their gazes fixed on her, different expressions adorning their features. But the most intimidating was Trafalgar’s ‒it felt as if he could dissect her with just his eyes.

Kneeling on the floor, she apologised profusely while picking up the broken pieces and the spoiled food. A cold sheen of sweat wet her lower back.

 _'It can’t be. No, no, crap, it’s not possible._ ’

A sharp shard cut her right thumb, but she hardly noticed. All she could think about was that awful name ‒ _Joker_ ‒ and the sour taste it left in her mouth. Dammit all to hell, it was just her luck, just her fuckin luck, and why on damnation‒

"Hey”, Chopper’s sweet voice called out to her. “Are you alright?”

"Just fine!” She forced a smile for the young man, trying for all she was worth to sound _even a little_ convincing. “Let me just fix you guys something else, I’ll be right back.”

Her hands didn’t stop trembling, not even when she fried another package of frozen onion rings, nor when she tried to fix the cut on her finger. When she walked back to the table, she could have sworn she physically felt the other’s gazes, but she was adamant on keeping hers on her sneakers.

Later, much later, when she was back in her apartment, she lay in bed with her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling as if it had all the answers to the million questions that plagued her thoughts.

She didn’t get any sleep that night, and the following nights were just as bad.

.

∞

.

Her favourite place in town, even above the Thousand Sunny or her own apartment, was Nojiko’s shop. It was a tiny shop in a quiet street, open and neat. The storefront was decorated in blue wood with white motives and filigrees, a little reminiscing of the sea. Walking in there always lightened up her mood, no matter how dark it might have been. The place smelled like tangerines and something else, a subtle fragrance that reminded her of home. Nojiko sold all kinds of fruits there, as well as indoor and orchard plants, flowers, and bio products like honey, bread or coffee. Very few things in there were made out of plastic, and the rustic quality of it all never failed to make her smile as soon as she crossed the crystal door and the small bell chimed above her head.

It was a clear, chirpy sound that seemed to sing ‘Hey, I’m here!’.

Whenever she wasn’t busy working the odd job and whatnot, she always came by to help Nojiko with any errand she needed done. Her late nights at the Sunny always left her the mornings to sleep and afternoons in the shop. It was Nami that had come up with the name ‒Bellemere’s Orchard‒, and it suited it just perfectly.

Oddly enough, her friend and roommate couldn’t be seen anywhere. It was strange of her to leave the shop unattended. After all, it was one of their most prized possessions. To Nami and Nojiko, it was like a tribute to their late mother, a way to still connect with her even though she was no longer with them in the flesh. To her, it was like a secret haven.

She wandered around, partly looking for her friend, partly admiring the greenery. Were those gerbera daisies? Those had always been one of her favourites. The bright colours made her think of a happiness she rarely got to experience in her everyday life. Looking at the flowers, though, made her feel a sudden tang of anxiousness.

‘ _Lust for life, huh?_ ’, she thought, not without a hint of bitterness. ‘ _What a joke._ ’

Yes, indeed, things were not going well at all. In spite of the job Franky had given her, and being surrounded by good people on a daily basis, life always got its way around making existence painful. It was a bitch, as they very well used to say. And the bitch currently poking her in the eye with a red-hot metal rod was no other than the worst scum to ever walk the face of Earth ‒namely a crime lord commonly known as Joker.

It had been bad to hear his name the night prior as it was. As if she didn’t have reason enough to want to forget it once and for all, now the closest thing she had to friends ‒besides the two sisters‒ were involved with that pile of shit. It made her teeth grit against each other just thinking about it.

Joker was dangerous. That, everyone in the city knew. Only rookies and extremely stupid people messed with him intentionally, and no one ever came unscathed from the confrontation. But if something made him really dangerous it was not the amount of people he had working under him, nor was it his ruthless business methods. No, it was his very nature. The man was like a spider, carefully weaving his sticky net with exceptional patience. And, when he finally got his sneaky hand on his prey, he always found some twisted, sick way to play with it before it was finally devoured, nothing left behind.

Truly, an individual to be feared.

How did she know that, though? Well, the answer to that was quite simple.

She was indebted to him.

A couple of years back, when Nami had been gone to study and it had been just Nojiko and her against the world, they had undergone a rough patch. Like, a very rough one. The shop was in red numbers, despite the fact that sales had been going well. Disturbing paintings and graffities had started to appear on the front door, the glass broken. Some time later she had learned that it had been a dirty tactic by the building’s owner to evict all the tenants without it being outrageously illegal. After all, if they couldn’t pay, he was entitled to kick them out. It had been a sick bet, and they had almost lost everything.

But then she had gone and made an even sicker bet.

Like that kind of things usually were, she hadn’t gotten to meet the big guy in person. Instead, the one to first approach her had been a sleazy guy, fat and with an offending fashion sense. At first, she had thought him to be a homeless man, but the reality turned out to be oh-so-different. His name was Trébol ‒obviously a codename‒, and he had been the answer to her unspoken prayers.

Make a deal with the devil, and all that crap.

At the time, though, it had been a godsend. The complex’s owner had stopped bullying them into selling, sells were rocketing, money flowing, you know the drill. She had been able to quit her part-time jobs as nanny and shop assistant; it was that good. They had moved to a bigger apartment, one that didn’t have leaks in the ceiling, and all had been fine in the goddamn world.

Then, the shit hit the fan.

Trébol appeared in her life again, but this time his manners were far less accommodating and much more aggressive. They owed him, he said, because of the help they had lent them. Did she really think that the owner had stopped giving them shit just out of the goodness of his heart? How stupid could she be? Now they were the ones to call the shots, not her, not her friend ‒them. And the meaning behind that single word had been so terrifying she had wanted to cry.

She knew right then ‒she was in, and she was in _deep_.

And so, her deals with Trébol continued, even though it wasn’t out of her own free will. If she refused, the disgusting man threatened her with a plethora of things ‒closing the shop, burning it to the ground with her inside, going to her apartment and slicing Nojiko’s throat open in her sleep…

The list went on and on.

She kept quiet and obeyed, even when she felt disgusted with herself. Going to the police would have solved nothing, and the consequences for her ratting would have been too great, anyway.

The worst part was that Nojiko never suspected a thing.

So she had become an unwilling part of Joker’s scheme. She payed him religiously ‒not that she had an alternative‒, usually through some of his minions, like Machvise. She gave him info on who tried to sell what in the neighbourhood, hid merch whenever they told her to, and the likes. They didn’t force her to do terrible things, per se, but the sheer idea that she was doing odd jobs for a drug lord and his gang of degenerates, helping them thrive, made her stomach churn.

And she did it all alone, afraid of hurting those she loved in the process.

And, over all of her fears, pains and troubles, Joker’s name was written with blood and tears. _Her_ blood and tears, as well as many, many others’.

.

∞

.

In the end, Nojiko never turned up at the shop that afternoon. She called, asking her to close the place, saying that something really important had come up. Yes, she would tell her when she got home, but not right now. Yes, she was fine. Really. What was she, her mom?  
She was getting ready for work the day after when she finally heard the sound of keys from the front door.

“It’s Genzo”, was the first thing the blue-haired woman said upon seeing her flatmate. “Doc says it’s nothing, just a little heart attack, but he will be bedridden for the next few days. And knowing him, he’ll try and jump off the bed if I’m not there to stop him and make him get some rest.”

“Does Nami know?”

“Yes, but I don’t want her to come.” Nojiko then entered her own room and started packing. “She worries too much, you know that. I think it’s best if she stays here, goes on with her life.”

Nojiko looked exhausted. And yet, she didn’t complain once ‒she never did. She didn’t resent Nami for staying with her friends, either. The older sister had assumed the role of carer many years before, given that she had had to delegate on her little sister back when life was really harsh. So, for Nojiko, it was only natural that she was the one to take care of the rest.

It was that precise moment, watching Nojiko pack her things to leave for a while, that she knew she had to do something. Her friend had deep purple circles under her eyes, and even though she was resilient, she knew Nojiko was damn tired from managing the shop and taking care of everything. She wished she could leave matters in her hands at least for once, and live.

The timing was so perfect that it seemed the universe was shoving the opportunity in her face. With Nojiko leaving, she was getting her out of trouble. Joker’s threats wouldn’t be able to reach her, and Nami was under Luffy’s protection. He would have nothing to hold against her, at least for a short time. And, if in that time, she was able to actually do something to bring that royal son of a bitch down, maybe they would be able to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Take care of everything for me.”

Both women shared a heartfelt hug before saying their goodbyes to each other. Then Nojiko walked out the door, her blue hair disappearing from sight and the aroma of tangerines leaving with her.

‘ _Oh, don’t worry ‒I will._ ’

She had yet many things to sort through, but her mid was set.

She finished getting ready and headed to the Thousand Sunny.

If those demented fools were ready to start a war with Joker himself, then so be it ‒she would do anything in her power to make him fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! New story here, this time a little darker.  
> I'm testing the waters with this one, so don't hesitate to tell me what you think about it!  
> As always, thank you so much for reading.


	2. Never trust a stranger

To know how Warlords worked in the city, she once had had to ask very careful questions. With a lot of wit on her part ‒and no less patience‒, she had managed to gather a reasonable amount of very valuable information over the years.

They were a very dangerous and selected group of people. Of course, they were all criminals, but their ‘specialities’ varied a lot from one to the next. For example, Joker owned the biggest synthetic drug trade. Hawkeye was a renowned arms trafficker, and The Empress was a very famous name in every red-light district. Their personalities, weaknesses and quirks were equally different. But there was one thing they all had in common ‒how insanely powerful they were.

And that, at least in some grade, was thanks to the Government. They gave the Warlords ‒as they liked to refer to their little group of sophisticated gangsters‒ practical immunity as long as they complied with governmental orders. If they did so, they were free to do whatever they pleased in the city. Most had assigned turfs, other roamed freely wreaking havoc. Sometimes they fought each other or formed alliances. It was an incredibly corrupt, unpredictable system.

Also, it could be the key to their plan’s success.

If she had gotten it right, that had been Trafalgar’s idea, too. An alliance between the Straw Hat and Heart gangs could be the destabilizing element, the revulsive that powered a chain reaction capable of hitting Joker where it hurt the most.

However, in order to do that, they would need to be careful, resourceful, extremely ballsy, and have very accurate intel.

That’s what she told Nami while they were chilling on her apartment’s couch, enjoying some deliciously mindless TV program.

“I’m sorry, you want to _what_!?”

“You heard me. Don’t be overdramatic.”

“I think I have the right to be so when my long-life friend tells me she wants to partake in a plan to take down one of the most dangerous psychos in the city.”

She sighed. Nami was mad. She had expected that, but it didn’t mean convincing her was going to be easy.

“Hell, you don’t even like gangs. You’ve always despised them.”

“And I still do.”

And she was telling the truth. Even if Nami’s gang was an exception, she still felt strongly about other criminal groups. It wasn’t an uncommon sentiment, so no one had ever asked the real reason behind her hate. It was only natural, after all. That’s what made things more difficult for her now, though ‒trying to sway the redhead into her cause was going to be harder _exactly because_ she didn’t know how far her actual involvement in the criminal world went.

“Listen to me. This is going to be incredibly dangerous. Trafalgar doesn’t even want his own gang involved, that’s why he’s dragging Luffy into this!”

That was a detail she hadn’t been privy to.

“If that’s the case”, she argued, one eyebrow arched, “why are you guys going through with this?”

“Because I’m surrounded by idiots” answered Nami without hesitation.

Both women kept silent for a while after that, mulling over things in their own heads. Nami wasn’t stupid, she knew that well. If she was to convince her to let her partake, she would need to give her a good reason. But, as much as she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to admit her dirtiest secret in front of her friend. She was terrified, in fact, of how the redhead would react. Would she be angry? Maybe disappointed on her?

‘ _Well, no shit, Sherlock. Of course she would be. You basically threw her sister’s shop into Joker’s claws because you were being desperate_.’

And, still, part of her was dying with the urge to tell Nami, to let her know everything. But that wouldn’t do, so she resorted to a desperate method, and thrusted another pizza roll into her mouth to keep it shut. Some woman on the telly was babbling on about some miracle cream to erase wrinkles and shit.

“Can you believe it? She can’t be older that twenty-five. Of course she doesn’t have crow’s feet”, mumbled Nami, sipping on her soda. “You know I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you, right?”

She looked the redhead’s way at the sudden change in topic, mouth still stuffed with food.

“Hm?”

Nami rolled her eyes.

“I know you wouldn’t ask to join without a proper motive. And if you don’t want to tell me yet, that’s okay. Just know that I worry about you.”

She swallowed the pizza, feeling suddenly guilty. It wasn’t like Nami to openly display her feelings, not even in front of her.

“Alright. Let me make a phone call. And don’t eat all the rolls, you pig woman!”

.

∞

.

They agreed to meet the other Straw Hats at the Warehouse some days later.

When they arrived, it was past midnight. The building was located in one of the more insidious parts of the harbour, among industrial containers and shipwright facilities. It was were the Straw Hat gang held their infamously known fighting contests. That night, the most dangerous thugs in the city were there to make bets or fight for the final prize. The contest was an exhibition of brute strength ‒and, more often than not, stubbornness. The men and women competing were not lightweights in the least, and while in Luffy’s fights killing wasn’t allowed, it didn’t mean that there was any less blood involved.

The inside was packed, and it reeked of booze, smoke, sweat, and other bodily fluids she rather not know about. However, the ambient was lively. Everybody was rooting for their favourites for the night, roaring like wild animals every time a punch was landed. People were red-faced, be it for the screaming or the alcohol in their systems ‒probably both. Money was flowing like water, exchanged in bets or used to buy beer and food. A few sketchy-looking fellows were conducting their own profitable businesses, which was allowed as long as the house received a percentage. Of course, Nami had been the one to come up with that rule.

It was the same redhead that guided her towards the upper floor, where the space was much less crowded. Only a few selected people were allowed there, so it could be considered the VIP zone ‒if there ever was a VIP zone that stunk that much, at least in her opinion. From up there the ring was perfectly visible, its floor dirty with some gooey substance that could only be the result of accumulated grime over the fights. How people stepped in there out of their own free will was a mystery not even science could solve.

She was infinitely relieved when she spotted a familiar head sitting at one of the tables.

“Robin!”

The woman rose her incredible eyes when she heard her name, and smiled when she saw the two young women approaching. “Nice to see you, miss Nami, miss Sunny.”

Lately, Robin had taken a liking to call her that as well, if only to tease. It only worked partially.

“Same to you, Robin”, she said with a smirk.

“Have you seen the boys?” Nami’s eyes were glued to the ring, where Bartolomeo and Cavendish were currently fighting. Those two had always had it out for each other, so it was no surprise to see the tenacity behind the hits they were exchanging.

“Yes, they’re around. Chopper is busy patching someone up, Franky said he was going to get some drinks, and the others are here somewhere. Brook didn’t come tonight.”

While Robin and Nami engaged in light conversation, she took the chance to explore around a little. Letting her eyes wander though the crowd that was simmering downstairs, she thought about the turns her life had endured in the last few years. She had never pictured herself attending such an event ‒and yet, there she was, watching people pummel each other bloody for money. Not her kind of entertainment, but then again, being the puppet of a criminal had never been in her plans, either.

The bitter path her thoughts had taken was suddenly interrupted by a disturbingly familiar sight ‒a spotted white hat that stood the hell out in the crowd.

She felt her body suddenly tense. What was _he_ doing here, of all places? As far as she knew, he and his gang never participated in this kind of stuff. Unless she was wrong, and she could very well be.

Trafalgar Law was surrounded by people, but it was painfully obvious he had come alone. The others steered clear of his way when they realised who he was, but Trafalgar didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, to her he looked as if he didn’t even acknowledge the myriad of human beings around him.

He was wearing the same long dark coat as the last time she had seen him. There wasn’t much that she could pick up from that distance, but he had his sight fixed on the other side of the ring, totally ignoring the contestants. When she followed the trace, she saw a giant fucking dude with red hair and a tad too much make up on his face. His torso was bare, and one of his arms was tattooed from his fingertips to the side of his neck, depicting a mechanic prosthetic, steampunk style. Even from so far away she could tell it was a fine work.

But, if she had to take a bet, Trafalgar wasn’t glaring at the man because he wanted to ask the name of the artist. Rather, the energy flowing between the two males was electric, and not in a good way. She was rather good at picking people’s moods, and theirs was definitely not friendly. They were both smiling, though, and it was kind of sinister. She had never seen Trafalgar smirking like that before, and he looked like a predator. The other guy wasn’t smiling _per se_ , but rather had his painted mouth stretched as far as it would go, showing off his teeth.

Then, smug as ever, Trafalgar lifted a finger ‒his _middle finger_ , to be more precise, the one with a letter ‘A’ inked on it. The redhead tensed at the other side of the ring, as if ready to bite Trafalgar’s head off. His not-smile only got bigger, and she couldn’t repress a shiver. It was like watching a kid riling up a caged animal at the zoo, enjoying the provocation even more because he knew the beast wouldn’t get him.

Strangely, she found the visceral reaction of the redhead funny, and she had to press a hand to her mouth to hide the smile that had crept to her face.

If it was the sudden movement what caught Trafalgar’s attention, she couldn’t have known, but suddenly his dark eyes were looking directly at her with a piercing intensity.

“I wouldn’t involve myself with him, if I were you.”

Nami’s voice was so close to her ear that she jumped in place. She hadn’t even heard her friend approach her.

“I know I don’t trust him, but why do you say that? Has he ever done something to you?”. If that was the case, she would make sure to give the guy a piece of her mind next time she saw him, Warlord or otherwise. When she looked down again, though, he had vanished in the crowd.

“He saved Luffy a couple of years back, so he owes him big”, answered Nami with a straight face. “It’s something that I truly despise, you know? The feeling of being indebted to that guy.”

Yes, if there was something Nami hated, was the concept of debt. Only when it was used against her, though ‒it was actually her favourite tool to handle against others, as Zoro had come to know so very well over the years. She believed the current amount of money he owed Nami ‒plus interest‒ rounded the two million. A ridiculous amount, to be sure, but not one the redhead would forgive easily. That was the thing with her friend, though. She believed that, deep down, Zoro and the others owing money to Nami was just an excuse to have them near, to avoid them from leaving her behind.

As if that was ever going to happen.

But, she supposed, deep, irrational fears like that one were there for a reason.

“Alas, if he saved Luffy ‒even if it was for some ulterior motive‒ wouldn’t that mean he isn’t as awful as you tend to believe, miss Nami?”, was Robin’s input. As per usual, a kind expression was etched on her features. It was a little surprising, because if she ever expected someone to be wary of a conspicuous stranger, that would be Robin herself, with her dark, imaginative mind and all that. However, she seemed to tolerate the guy well enough, even if she _was_ on her guard.

Nami, on the other side, wasn’t in the mood to be that trusting.

“That man is smart, patient, and powerful ‒a combination every sane person would do well to avoid. Besides, there’s something dark about him. I don’t know exactly what it is, but excuse me for being wary of such a weirdo.”

The sarcasm in her voice pointed to the fact that she was, indeed, not sorry at all, but she couldn’t blame her friend. Nami was being the most sensible, in her humble opinion.

“I guess one would have to be a little fucked in the head to want to take on a psycho like Joker, though”, was what she said, even if only because she liked riling up the temperamental redhead.

“Yeah, go ahead and joke about it. But when the guy is selling all of your internal organs in a back alley, don’t come to me for help”, Nami huffed, indignant.

“I wouldn’t. You’re the type to stand there and say ‘I told you so’.”

“Besides, I would already be dead, with all my vowels being taken and all.”

“Robin, I swear, I worry about you sometimes.”

The lively conversation among the three women kept going for several minutes, although the topic of Trafalgar Law was abandoned after that. They were mostly debating about the fights, who would win, who would need a trip to the hospital, and why on Earth Bartolomeo kept fighting with so many piercings on his face and no protection at all. That was one that could get nasty pretty easily. At least Zoro had the mind of taping his earrings before each fight, so they weren’t ripped right from his ear in a rough hit. She had seen it happen once or twice, and while it wasn’t a serious kind of injury, it was messy.

The night went on without major disturbances. The fights happened in a quick succession, at least to her stressed out brain. She had agreed with Nami that she would be the one to tell the other Straw Hats about her joining, and so far, no one had objected. Even if Robin kept eyeing her as if she pitied her, and Franky had questioned her sanity as soon as he had come back with the promised drinks.

“Are you sure, girlie? I mean, I’m not gonna try and talk you out of this if you’re set, but…”

“Don’t try, Franky. She’s stupid and stubborn and wants to get herself killed.”

She sighed at Nami’s jab. “Thanks for the confidence, friend.”

“Why the need, though?” Franky took his sunglasses off so he could look directly at her. “Did the bastard do something to you? Nami-sis hasn’t told us much.”

She winced. “Let’s say that’s just… complicated. And I don’t want you guys thinking any less of me if I tell you.”

“You _know_ that doesn’t make it any better, right?”

“But, if you need help with it ‒whatever ‘it’ is‒, you can count on us, girlie!”

“And if you have the info you say you have, then you could prove to be an invaluable ally.”

“Hey!” Nami cried out, indignant. “Don’t make it sound like I’m the bad guy here!”

“You _are_ kind of scary, though.”

“Usopp!”

Appearing from apparently nowhere, Usopp came to their table grinning to himself. That hit to Nami’s pride was surely going to cost him later, but for now, he was fine with it.

“Nice to see you here” he saluted her, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. “Actually, Luffy wants to talk to you, but he’s downstairs prepping for his next fight, so… Do you mind coming with me?”

She nodded and followed Usopp down the stairs. He was a sweet kid, but could never really talk to her without acting a little out of place. She didn’t know if it was because they didn’t know each other that well, or because of some other reason, but she really liked him. He was always trying to make her smile with his stories, and even if he always was beyond embarrassed when she called him out on them, he never took it the wrong way. She figured that he was in a gang because he had had a rough childhood, same as most of his friends. If anything, she was glad that he had made friends with Luffy ‒it would have been just too sad to watch him join any other gang, one where there was no place for kind hearts like his.

She was just following after Usopps’s hat when, out of the blue, someone bumped into her. They were bigger than she was, so she stumbled backwards trying not to lose her balance. Not wanting to fall into the filthy floor, she snatched the first thing her hand came in contact with, which turned out to be a shirt. The same shirt of the person that had bumped into her. The inertia caused her to fall into her backside, and since the floor was slippery, the force of the fall was even greater. As a result, a loud ripping sound could be heard, and she ended kissing the floor either way.

“Wha- The fuck are you doing!?”

She looked up, only to see a very tall, very angry blond man. He was burly, and his eyebrows were dangerously close. His beady eyes looked at her bewildered, as if he couldn’t quite believe that a girl had gone and tore his shirt open. A vein throbbed in his brow.

She was about to apologise when her eyes travelled to his chest, that was partially in the open. There was a mark there, some kind of tattoo done in a striking red ink. But it wasn’t a tattoo, right? It looked like more of an emblem, and it was mostly covered, but it seemed oddly familiar, and…

“You bitch, quit staring!” the man snarled at her, and suddenly she was scared of what he might do to her. He seemed out of his mind, with his nostrils flaring and his hair dishevelled, eyes fixed on her form on the floor. Maybe he was on something nasty, or maybe he just had anger issues, but either way it didn’t bode well for her.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking‒”

“Damn right, you weren’t!”

He grabbed her arm then, and he had a painful grip, and why was Usopp nowhere to be seen? She was starting to panic, because the breath of the fucker stung, and he was about to break her arm, and she knew she had to escape.

Playing the element of surprise to her advantage, she stomped her thick-soled boots on his metatarsus. She felt a sick satisfaction when the fiend cried out in pain, and the moment he let go of her arm she dashed out of his reach and into the crowd, hoping to lose him among the people.

Painting because of the effort, she reached a secluded zone of the Warehouse where some crates were piled. Had she been in her right mind, she would have never gone there alone, much less when the place was full to the brim with strangers. In a dark place like that no one would have heard her scream.

Which was exactly what happened.

When a sudden force pushed her against a wall of crates, the first thing she thought was that the foul blond from earlier had somehow managed to find her. But when she looked over to make sure, what she found made her wish, even for a moment, she had been right.

“A little bit of a dirty move, but I’m not blaming you. Bellamy can very well be a prick when he wants to.”

Trafalgar’s hard gaze pinned her into place. In fact, the arm he was pressing against her chest to keep her from running away was totally unnecessary ‒she wouldn’t have dared move. Petrified, it took her a minute to process his words.

“Who?”

Apparently, it wasn’t the right thing to say, because his eyes narrowed and the pressure on her chest increased. And he was tall, so tall that he dwarfed her. Her breath came out ragged, but it was no longer because of the little race of hers.

“Are you going to keep playing games?”

“I don’t know what‒”

“‒what I’m talking about? Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Try again.”

The brim of his hat obscured his gaze, and she felt the undeniable urge to put some distance between them. But when she squirmed something stabbed her back, digging between her ribs, and she let out a whimper.

“Let me go.”

“And here I though you were smarter than that. You’re proving to be very clichéd, though. How disappointing”, he said with mock disenchantment.

“What the hell do you want me to say, then? You’re the one who attacked me.”

He hummed, studying the lines of her face. She could feel her heart beating in a frenzied dance, but tried not to show her uneasiness. A stupid part of her brain thought that maybe he was like a dog, that he could smell her fear and take it as a sign of weakness. Of submission.

She didn’t feel like submitting.

“Why don’t you start by telling me the truth?”, he all but purred. “Does Nami-ya know how you behave when she’s not around, or is she actually a little bitch like you?”

The only thing glinting in the dim light were his double earrings and his white teeth, and it made her fucking afraid, but at the same time, the way he talked about Nami set a little fire in her.

“You want the truth? Well then, the truth’s that I didn’t expect to run into so many fucking assholes tonight”, she snarled, not caring to acknowledge the dangerous spark in his smirk. “And if you ever talk about her like that again, I’ll make you swallow it.”

‘ _I don’t fucking know how, though. I might die right here._ ’

To her utter surprise, Trafalgar took a step back, smirk ever-present in his features like he was making fun of her in a twisted, obscure way.

“Careful there. You might find that I’m not as nice as I look.”

“That’s not saying much.”

He laughed at her taunt, and it was a rich, deep sound.

“Precisely.”

He turned on his heels, and she couldn’t believe her damn luck, because it looked like she was going to survive that nightmare of a night.

“One more thing.”

Or maybe she had talked a little bit too early.

“The moment you let your guard down, I’ll be there. Don’t forget it.”

And just like that, she was left alone once more.

.

∞

.

When she finally reunited with Luffy and the others, she had managed to calm down, or at least enough for her breath to stop shaking. Her heart rate was another matter, though.

Luffy was with Zoro and Usopp in a corner, set apart from everyone else. When they saw her approach, Usopp ran to her with worry etched in his face.

“There you are! I thought I lost you! Where have you been?”

She took a breath before answering. “I run into Trafalgar on my way here.”

“What!?” Usopp groaned, pulling at his hair. “That’s exactly why we wanted to talk to you!”

To say she was confused would have been a really big understatement. “Wait, _what_?”

Zoro spoke up then, every bit the second in command she knew he was. The seriousness in his deep tone was blood-chilling.

“He thinks you’re a spy. For Joker.”

Well, that… actually made a lot of sense. All the things he had just said to her moments before came back to her in a different light, and then she understood. He had cornered her to make her confess. All he had wanted had been to scare her so she would admit her true allegiances. What he hadn’t known, though, was that she was actually loyal to her friends.

“So… you didn’t want to talk to me to question my motives to join into all of this?”

Luffy cocked his head to the side in curiosity. “Why would we want to do that?”

‘ _Is he being serious right now?_ ’

“For the same reasons Trafalgar wanted to, I guess?”

The young boss started laughing heartily at that, straw hat nearly tipping off.

“But he doesn’t know you like we do, silly!”

Damn that kid. It should be illegal to have a smile that bright, specially if you were one of the most wanted criminals in the city.

“Even if that’s true”, intervened Zoro, “you’ll have to convince him to let her be, Luffy.”

“Alright, alright.” The boy groaned, elongating the vowels like a contradicted child would. He just hated chores and everything that wasn’t ‘funny’, as he put it. And that included responsibilities of any kind.

“Come” Zoro put a hand on her shoulder to claim her attention. “I’ll take you home, if only to make sure nothing else happens tonight.”

Part of her was relieved at his offering. Also, another part of her dreaded thinking about the possibility that _something_ could actually happen to her because of Trafalgar’s distrust. ‘The moment you let your guard down, I’ll be there. Don’t forget it.’

‘ _It’s not just him, though. It’s the entirety of Joker’s gang, too_.’

But she didn’t voice any of her concerns.

“Alright”, she smiled at the green-haired man. “But I’m driving your car.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her while they marched outside.

“I don’t want to end up on the other side of town by accident.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the title says. Stay safe, kids!
> 
> Jokes aside, I'm trying to not make it too slow in the beginnig. I just have some stuff to sort through so the world-building makes sense!
> 
> Also, so many assholes in this chapter.


	3. Never be blinded by shiny things

Tonight was the night.

Or, rather, tonight was the night she was going to take the final step into the gang world. There would be no turning back after that. If she was in, she had to be in one hundred percent, or things wouldn’t turn out right the way she wanted them to go.

Didn’t it sound just peachy?

After Zoro had dropped her off at her apartment, she had done much thinking. Reflecting not only on the events that had taken place at the Warehouse, but on what it would entail to her future, too. She didn’t want to become a permanent part of Luffy’s gang ‒that was a thick red line for her, and she had told him as much. He had just grinned and patted her in the head as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but she did. She cared about the fact that, if she was getting involved, she wanted a way out afterwards, an open door. That was, of course, assuming everything would go their way and she would be alive by the end of it.

She didn’t want to become rich or powerful. She was a woman without ambition, as lame as it sounded. Honestly, if she could go back to the way things were before ‒ _before Joker_ ‒, she would have been happy and content. A simple life, taking care of Bellemere’s Orchard, occasionally working at the Thousand Sunny, seeing her friends everyday… That was it for her, really. As good as things could get around there.

A soft humming left her lips while she arranged a crate of lemons. She didn’t recognise the tune until she was halfway through ‒wasn’t it one of Brook’s songs? Making a mental note to ask him to add some lyrics to the melody, she turned to grab some peonies from the counter, when‒

The chime of the bell broke through the shop’s quietness.

“Is there anyone here?”, came a high voice from the entrance.

“Ah, yes! Coming!”. She emerged from the other side of the counter and approached the street door.

There was a girl, maybe ten-or-so years old. She wore a cute, pink hoodie with bear ears atop her head. She looked adorable.

“Hello, there”, she cooed, approaching the little girl. “Can I help you?”

“I would hope so.” She looked around the shop, carefully eyeing the merchandise. “Do you have grapes?”

“Sure! Let me get some for you.”

Gathering some in a little wicker basket, she handed them to the little girl. She even put in one of the peonies to try and make the child smile, since she had such a serious air.

“You’re lucky, these are the last of the season.”

The girl eyed the grapes happily, plugging some in her fingertips and the eating them one by one. That struck her as weird, but she didn’t comment on that.

“Are you alone, honey?”

“Don’t worry about that, _honey_.” The child didn’t even bother to look her in the eye. “My sister is waiting for me.”

“Well, then, maybe we could call her an‒”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”, the child blurted, picking the flower from the basket and throwing it carelessly to the floor. “Stop babbling at me and make yourself useful.”

The child ‒although she was starting to doubt she was one, despite her looks‒ snaked a hand under her pink hoodie and extracted a package. It looked inconspicuous enough, and it could be carried around in one hand. The fuckers had even put some stamps on it so it didn’t look suspicious, but she instantly knew the mail was no place for a parcel like that.

“Hurry up and take it. I don’t have all day.”

So that was it, then. The girl ‒or not-so-much girl‒ worked for them. As much as it disgusted her, she had to give it to Joker ‒it was a good guise. No one in their right mind would search a kid for drugs.

But something was nagging at the back of her mind.

“What happened to Violet?” She was used to the other woman’s face and antics by then. She always bought some flowers, discretely picked or left the merchandise, and disappeared without a ruckus. That other… _girl_ , though, was starting to give her the creeps.

“Nothing you have to worry about. Unless”, she pointedly stared, petulant smile drawn on her face, “you _want_ to really worry.”

She was left speechless as the little person left the shop, bell chiming after her. She stood there, dumbfounded and a tad scared, with the parcel in her hold. Shaking out of her dazed state, she walked to the back of the shop to hide the object, until someone would drop by to pick it up, as per usual.

Worrying her bottom lip, she kept ruminating one thought, and one thought only.

‘ _The little bitch didn’t pay for the grapes_.’

.

∞

.

Not many people knew it, but the whole building of the Thousand Sunny was Franky’s property. One night, months ago, after having had one too many, her boss had told her the story of how a childhood friend of his ‒she doubted his real name was _Idiotberg_ ‒ had helped him buy and rebuild the whole thing. Later, he had tried for a career in politics, but the Government had trampled his dream after a nasty affair with some intelligence operation. As it used to happen, people with morals didn’t go too far in the city.

Anyway, that was how the Sunny had come to life. And now, besides Franky’s dream bar, it had become the Straw Hats’ home. It wasn’t a big building ‒only three stories tall‒ but it was were Luffy’s gang lived and operated from. She had come to visit Nami only a couple of times, not wanting to interfere too much in the gang’s business.

That is, until tonight.

She took a deep breath, cleaning the last spot on the counter. It had been a quiet shift at the bar. The reason she was so tense, though, had much to do with what would happen after.

“Girly, if you keep scrubbing like that, you’ll be able to see your own reflection.”

She released a sigh upon seeing Franky. His striking blue hair was done in twin plaits, and he wore a purple shirt with little robots printed on it. Hadn’t she been so on edge, she would have chided him for his choice of attire.

“Sorry, boss. I guess I’m a little nervous.”

“There’s no need. Everything’s gonna go nice and easy, you’ll see!” His huge grin only faltered a little before adding one more thing. “But before that, there’s someone you should talk to.”

She quizzically looked at the man, not knowing whom he could possibly mean. But seeing how he was fidgeting on his own two feet, something clicked inside her head.

“Absolutely not”, she whisper-shouted, horror clear on her face. “Have you gone nuts? That psycho attacked me the last time I saw him!”

“Yeah, and he’s been under a tight spot for that. Look, girlie, it was Luffy’s idea, so you just have to talk it out. I promise you we will be right there if you need us.”

To her utmost chagrin, Franky sounded painfully sincere. Besides, she didn’t really have many options. It was either clearing things out with Trafalgar, or risking the alliance’s future. And she had already decided to see the mission through, so what would be the point in walking out now?

They’d just have to suck it up, both of them.

“Alright, where is he?”

“He came through the back door.”

Leaving the rag on the counter, she followed Franky towards the back of the bar, where the storage room was located. There was a door to the far end of the hallway that led to a back alley, and to the right, a set of stairs that climbed up towards the first floor.

The door to the alley was currently open, and both her and Franky went outside.

The night air was cold and humid. A lone streetlamp shed a yellowish light in the narrow passage and, under it, leaning against the wall, there was a dark figure. Only when it came closer she recognised the Warlord’s features. He looked as stony-faced as ever, but she thought there was a stiffness to his spine and in the downwards turn of his mouth.

Lost in her assessment, she missed the hard look her boss was giving him.

“Let’s do this quickly. Trafalgar, you better be on your super-best behaviour.”

“Yeah, whatever. I already got the lecture from Straw Hat-ya.”

“I’ll be right here, girlie.” And, with that, Franky disappeared inside the building. She took note of the fact the door was left open.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Trafalgar’s deep voice got her attention back to him. “I did what I did the other night because I didn’t trust you.”

‘ _Yes, that much was clear_.’

“And?”, she asked, thinking he was going to elaborate further.

“’And’, what?” his brow furrowed even more.

“Is that your way of apologising? Because it was kind of lame.”

“Wh- I’m not sorry!”, he seethed. “Listen here, woman. I have _plans_. And right now, the only thing interfering with them is _you_.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Is that a threat?”

His smothering gaze pierced her as if he would like nothing more than to reap her heart out of her chest. She shivered, but tried to make it look as if it had been from the cold. Suddenly, his countenance changed, and he went from murderous to incredibly frustrated. He pinched the space between his eyebrows as if in pain. She wondered if he always looked like he hadn’t slept or if it was just that night.

“This isn’t how things were supposed to go.”

She felt a pang in her chest at hearing that. Was it guilt? No, it couldn’t be. She didn’t owe him anything. Right?

‘ _Well, maybe not, but you_ do _owe Nojiko, don’t you?_ ’

Ah, crap. Had she really forgotten that she was doing all of this for a reason? She wanted to see Joker’s end more than anything in the world. And, even if it was hard to admit, to do that she needed not only Luffy’s help, but Trafalgar’s too.

And she had been kind of a brat, hadn’t she? Well then, it looked like it was time to make amends ‒for real, this time.

So, she started talking with a quiet voice, aware that there was a possibility someone was overhearing their conversation. But, as soon as she began, something weird happened. It was as if a dam had been broken inside of her, and all of her secrets came out with a force, getting revenge on her for having kept them locked for so long. So, she told him everything, from her relationship with the sisters to the way she had become entangled on Joker’s grasp. Everything, for the first time. Now, there was another person that knew who she was, and what she had done. And, more importantly, _why_.

When she was done, silence stretched between the two. She didn’t dare look at him, feeling as vulnerable as she did. It was kind of scary, to feel so bare before another person. And Trafalgar Law, among all people? Come on.

“Really?” He asked after a minute, eyes wide open and non-believing. “You’re set to go this far for just a shop?”

“It’s not ‘just a shop’”, she sneered. “It’s everything we have. But I didn’t expect you to understand.”

He seemed taken aback for a moment. Trafalgar leaned back ‒if even a little‒ as if she had delivered a physical blow, and his eyes narrowed dangerously, but he didn’t react further. In fact, a cold, uncomfortable silence settled between the two.

When he next spoke, his voice was significantly softer. “Even if it has some strong emotional value for you and your friends”, he stated, looking her straight in the eye, “I don’t really see how this would make me trust you.”

“I don’t need your trust.” Even if her words were kind of harsh, hostility had all but abandoned her at that point. There was something about him, something unspoken, that‒ but now was not the time to think about unnecessary stuff like that. “Even though it would make things a lot easier, what I need is not your trust, but your help. I already count on Luffy, Nami and the others, but this is supposed to be an alliance, is it not?”

When it was clear that it hadn’t been a rhetorical question, he slowly nodded his agreement.

“We really can’t do this without you. And I know this goes both ways.”

He remined silent, so she decided to push her luck a little more.

“Besides, I’ve already given you leverage against me, telling you all about my link to Joker and his minions. If you were to tell someone, I’d be screwed.”

He groaned, fairly annoyed by her reasoning. And, when he pinched his nose yet again, that’s when she knew she had him. She couldn’t supress a smirk.

“Fine, then. I’ll work with the woman that’s overly attached to a shop. Isn’t life great?”

Despite the undeniable sarcasm, she couldn’t help but agree. Life was, indeed, being great for once.

.

∞

.

“Is that a new shirt, Sanji?”

Chopper, Usopp and Zoro were sitting on the sofa when the blond came out of the kitchen with some appetizers. The fact that they were criminals shouldn’t have to keep them from having meetings with a little of class, and for the cook, that included canapés and a light, refreshing drink. ‘Because standards, you know?’, was what he used to say when asked.

“In fact, yes, Chopper ‒it is new.”

The blond couldn’t refrain from showing off a little his outfit. Knowing there would be three ladies, no less, in the house, he had dressed to impress. His shirt was a baby blue tone, complimented by a pale pink tie and royal blue pants.

“He just wants to impress the girls, Chopper”, was Usopp’s clever input. Although it would have sounded smarter hadn’t his mouth been filled with crisps.

“That’s just dumb.”

Zoro laughed. “Oi, shitty cook! Did you hear? Chopper thinks you’re dumb!”

That, as it tended to happen, was the beginning of a verbal aggression between Zoro and Sanji. It soon escalated, though, and both males started wrestling on the floor.

“Someone stop them!”, shouted Usopp from the sofa, too scared to intervene himself.

“They’re killing each other! We need a doctor!” A pause. “Crap! I’m the doctor!”

At the big table by the far end of the room, several pairs of eyes watched the shenanigans unfold with varying levels of interest.

“Do you _ever_ get shit done around here?”, deadpanned an affronted-looking Trafalgar Law.

“Not really, no.” Nami sighed, defeated, and it was a painful sight. The redhead looked as if she were ready to cry.

“I don’t even think Sanji has noticed Luffy eating all the appetizers. It was so fast, like a flash.” She was in awe at the accomplishment.

“Since it looks like we won’t start the meeting for a while, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.” Like a true gentleman, Brook sipped on his warm tea before continuing. “Miss, what colour are your panties today?”

“Excuse m‒”

“You perverted old man! Don’t go asking a woman that!”

She felt just a little bad seeing the monstrous force behind Nami’s cuff to Brook’s head. Just a bit.

“Sorry I took so long, everyone”, a soft voice sang. “Our boss was in the kitchen, getting busy by the fridge.”

And there was Robin, smiling like a sweetheart while literally dragging Luffy by his T-shirt. At her side, Nami looked like she wanted to thank the gods for the older woman’s existence.

“We can finally begin with this meeting!” The redhead stood, placing both hands on the table. “Everyone, pay attention!”

Surprisingly, even Zoro and Sanji stopped their fight and came to join the rest at the table. The looks on their faces were, for once, completely focused.

‘ _So this is how they’re like when it comes to business. Even Chopper and Luffy look so serious right now_.’

“Alright”, started Nami. “Since we’re now allied with Tra-guy, and _she_ ” here the redhead looked straight at her “is determined to meddle even against my valuable advice, the first thing we have to do is put our cards on the table, so to speak.”

“What does that mean?” Chopper not-so-silently whispered to Usopp.

“It means that we share with everyone all we know about Joker and his organization.”

“Oh, okay. But I don’t know anything, except that he’s scary and that Luffy had a fight against him once.”

“That’s why we have help this time, Chopper.” After saying that, Robin fixed her mesmerizing gaze on her, almost as if to encourage her to speak.

But, when she was about to open her mouth, another voice spoke.

“The first thing you should know is that his name is Donquixote Doflamingo, and that he’s extremely dangerous. Not because of his allies or the size of his gang, but because of his ruthlessness and cunning.”

Trafalgar’s tone was icy, but not even the coldness could hide the darkest undertones of his voice. She had the feeling, right then, that something completely different was lurking underneath that surface of ice.

“His network might be even bigger than you think.” Sensing that it was now or never, she took the plunge and started talking. “For years, Joker’s ‒or rather, Doflamingo’s‒ minions have been terrorizing small businesses to make them comply to his rule. Even out of his own turf in the New World District. He uses locals to store his drugs, get information on the area, or even play mule. That’s how he avoids the few police agents that aren’t in his pay-check, or are insane enough to go against him. If someone doesn’t play according to this, the business and all proof are destroyed, and more often than not people turn up dead.”

She paused for a moment, taking a big gulp of the wine Sanji had served. It was supposed to be a soft, sweet beverage, but it left a sour tinge on her tongue. Although those could have been her nerves, too, who knew. She had purposely left out any mention of herself or Nojiko’s shop, of course ‒there was never harm on playing it safe. A brief flash image of the parcel she had received that same morning came to her mind, but she quickly brushed it away.

The Straw Hats and the Warlord were exchanging glances. Some looked worried; others, just tense. There were even a few who had paled considerably, maybe aware for the first time of their real predicament. But, even though the situation was dire, this was something that simply had to be done.

There was one more thing she had to tell them.

“There’s a place. I’ve never seen it myself, but it is said to be Joker’s main lab, where this drug called ‘S.A.D.’ is processed. It’s his main source of revenue, so if we could get the police to bust it, or somehow do it ourselves‒”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Sunny-ya.” Everyone in the room looked at Trafalgar because of his not-so-kind interruption, but the man seemed non-plussed by the attention. “Everything you’ve said until now is correct, though incomplete.”

She frowned at that. Incomplete? Well, she obviously didn’t know every detail. They were rumours, after all, and she had never been to the place herself, but other than that…

“How do you know she’s wrong?” was Zoro’s question, which he managed between gulps of his beer.

‘ _Yes, how?_ ’

“She’s not wrong. Don’t go putting words in my mouth.”

Usopp seemed a little lost, as was everyone at that moment. “Then, why‒?”

“I know what I’m talking about, because I’m in.”

A thick silence spread through the room.

“You’re… in?” She slowly repeated, trying to make sense of the words. “You mean, you managed to infiltrate Joker’s gang?”

He nodded. “More or less.”

“So…”, began Luffy, “you work for Mingo?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Straw Hat-ya. It’s just a façade.”

“But wouldn’t it be bad for you if we defeated him? You’d lose your job, you know?” For some reason, the boy was looking at Trafalgar as if he were dumb.

“Be quiet, boss.” Sanji chided him as one would do a child. “Continue, please.”

Trafalgar looked about to give up on humankind. “As I was about to tell you, the S.A.D. lab is relevant, yes, but not just because of the product. For starters, Doflamingo has been experimenting on a new synthetic drug. To succeed, he needs his main researcher, a scientist who happens to work at the S.A.D. building.”

“So we not only destroy the place and its contents, but incapacitate the scientist as well”, mumbled Robin, mind considering a thousand gruesome possibilities.

“That, or… We take him alive for questioning”, was Nami’s approach.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, Nami-ya. We should also consider what to do with that new drug, but that can wait until ‘phase 1’ is successfully completed.”

From her seat across him, she eyed the man carefully. His demeanour made it appear as if he hadn’t planned any further, but given his reputation and the little bits she knew about him, it was clear that their course of action was more thought out than what he led them to believe. Why was he keeping it a secret, then? Was it just to be precautious, or for fear of betrayal? She found herself asking the very same question she had been mulling about since she had known him: was he actually trustworthy?

As if sensing her doubts, his piercing grey gaze found hers, daring her to call him out in front of everyone ‒always defiant, always provocative.

But no, things didn’t add up. If there was anyone more determined than her to take Joker down, that was Trafalgar Law. After all, she was good at reading people, and that skill had yet to fail her. But there were so many mysteries around that man, she couldn’t help but feel compelled ‒and scared at the same time.

Three hours later, a plan had been set. Trafalgar had done almost all the talking, while the others had asked questions or added details here and there. Finally, to her relief ‒and no, she was not ashamed of admitting it‒ it was decided that she would sit this one out, behave as normally as possible in case someone would be watching her.

It had been a taxing night, so everyone was looking a bit disheveled. Zoro’s stripped shirt was wide open, and many beer bottles piled up around him. Sanji had filled and entire ashtray by himself. Franky’s plaits didn’t look so fresh anymore, and the youngers of the bunch were clearly sleepy. She was half-sure the green-haired man had taken a nap or two during the briefing, and Luffy still had drool on his chin. Trafalgar, on the other side, looked just as tired as always, so that was no surprise.

“Is that all, then?” Nami’s red glasses were sitting low on her nose, hinting at the dark shadows beneath her brown eyes.

“So, it’s finally happening. Three days from now, is it?”

“We should go over it again at least once more before then, so everyone knows their part.”

Hearing those words, Luffy loudly groaned in his seat. But Nami, being the intuitive woman she was, stabbed him with her most powerful glare, suspecting the worst.

“Tell me something, _boss_. Have you understood anything of what we’ve been discussing for the past few hours?”

“Ugh, yeah. We go and beat Mingo up!”

“You didn’t understand a thing, did you?”, Trafalgar deadpanned. It wasn’t really a question.

To everyone’s despair, Luffy just beamed and brushed the back of his head. “Sorry!”

She was sure she had never seen anyone look so ready to kill another human being out of a petty grudge as Trafalgar did right then and there.

.

∞

.

“Are you absolutely sure?”

The room was wide and warm. On one side, the wall was entirely made of glass from the floor to the ceiling. The city lights were overwhelmingly beautiful from up there, hundreds of meters above the ground. The neon lights on top of the skyscrapers offered a hypnotizing view, their shades ghosting like a halo over the dark streets. They contrasted prettily with the flicker of the streetlights far below and the white and yellow fireflies that were other building’s illuminated windows.

That was the outside world. The magnificent and abhorrent city where only the strongest survived long enough to claim their reign over everyone and everything.

In the inside of the big room, the picture was just as charming ‒carpeted floors, elegant furniture, extravagant decorations, expensive drinks. Everything was donned in tones of pink, mauve and white. It shone as if it was made of glitter and gold.

Despite the luxurious atmosphere, Bellamy couldn’t supress a shiver. Just like the city out there, it was shiny on the outside, but putrid on the inside. Like a captivating carnivorous flower, ready to slowly digest its prey.

“Absolutely”, he said through a quivering mouth. “I saw her once at that filthy bar of theirs, she was the barmaid. Her face didn’t stick up with me. But the other day I heard Violet and Sugar talking about the girl, and then I stumbled on her at their fighting ring, and‒”

“So you’re not sure at all, is what you’re saying”, came the voice of one of the Four Clubs, Diamante himself.

“Be a good boy, Bellamy, and describe her to me.”

Bellamy immediately did as Trébol had asked.

“It could be”, the fat man mused. “Hey, hey, Doffy, what do you think? We could have a problem here.”

Donquixote Doflamingo sat placidly on his chair at the back of the room. The seat was huge, the same as his occupant, and sitting there in all his glory, Bellamy could easily picture him as a king ‒all tall, broad and exquisitely intimidating.

Both the Joker and the King personified.

“Come on, gentlemen”, Dofalmingo smiled, all white, pearly teeth. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly scared of a little bird who flew a little way from our nest.”

“But, Doffy. The Straw Hat and his gang‒”

“They dared rival the splendour of the Corrida Coloseum!”, interjected Diamante, out of himself with indignation. “That was my turf, and those damned brats‒”

“Silence.”

Doflamingo didn’t even need to raise his voice. At the one word, everyone in the room grew completely silent. For a moment, no one dared move. Joker was quietly humming to himself while sipping on a drink.

“What you say is certainly interesting, Bellamy.”

Hearing the praise from his master, Bellamy almost deflated in relief. He had been dreading what could happen to him if they thought he was no longer useful to the organization. For years, all he had wanted had been to please Joker, to prove his worth and strength to him and, maybe, one day, he’d fill one of the Four Clubs seats himself.

“However, what happened to the one task I gave you?”

Bellamy swallowed dry. From a corner in the room, he could hear Dellinger snickering.

“I think he failed, boss”, said the youngster, voice cracking in mocking laughter. “Isn’t that pathetic, hm?”

“As much as it pains me, I have to agree with Dellinger. After all, Straw Hat is still alive.” Even though his words were laced with venom, Doflamingo was practically purring. “Maybe my trust in you was misplaced to begin with.”

“No, please!” If he hadn’t already been on his knees, Bellamy would have thrown himself to the floor. “Give me one more chance, just one! I can kill the brat, I can!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m tired of watching you fail.”

Bellamy kept on begging and making promises, but it was clear by the way Doflamingo’s brow furrowed further and further that he was getting fed up with that gibberish nonsense.

“Enough”, he gritted out. “Get out of my sight.”

The burly man looked a little lost, but eventually exited the room. Doflamingo had always found men like him extremely boring ‒unclever, simple and underachieving. A brute without brains or any outstanding quality besides their blind loyalty ‒like a dog’s. Disposable when their uses ran out.

“Dellinger”, he called. The teen readily came to attention by his side. “Follow him out and kill him.”

Dellinger smiled at the order, more than ready to comply. His teeth seemed sharp like razors, giving him a sinister mien. He left without more preamble.

From behind the rim of his glass, Doflamingo’s sick grin rivalled the crescent moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the big guy appears! We could also see more of other characters, and the plot is moving... What are your thoughts?
> 
> The creator of One Piece, Eiichirou Oda, originally pictured Robin having brown eyes, and I think I prefer that to the anime version, where she has blue eyes. What about you guys?
> 
> See you next chapter!


	4. Never give a sucker an even chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a tremendous delay, and for that I humbly apologise.  
> For better or for worse, here is the chapter now. Please, enjoy!

Almost four days had passed. The night of the heist against the SAD clandestine laboratory came and went, and she was dying of anticipation inside of her tiny apartment. The channel news had remained strangely silent, only reporting and explosion near de docks. Something about a gas leak in an industrial area, they said. Nothing about human casualties.

Four days, and she had been biting her nails raw the whole time. She even had to cut short the caffeine intake, because it only added to her frayed nerves. The night prior, tossing and turning between her bedsheets, she had barely resisted the temptation to call Nami, and only because she knew that might get her in trouble.

So, anxious waiting it had been.

It was only around seven that she got a text message from her redhead friend.

**Mission accomplished :P**

**Everyone’s fine and back**

**See you later**

Only after reading those lines numerous times she got a huge breath out. She could take it down a notch with her blood pressure, seeing as everyone was alright. The sixth or seventh time she re-read the message, a sudden thought came to her mind.

‘ _Wait, does that include Trafalgar?_ ’

Scoffing, she shook her head. Why was she asking herself that? Besides, if that weren’t the case, Nami would have said something.

Right?

Right.

She blocked the screen with a huff and tossed her phone around. She didn’t need to concern herself with Trafalgar, of all people. Even if he had started to behave less like a jerk and more like a civilised human being, her hands were more than full already. Surely there had to be a limit to how many people a woman could worry herself to death about.

Somehow, the absence of her mobile in her hand left a sour aftertaste in her mouth. But she still refused to give in and send a text that would be so obviously out of place it’d be painful.

.

∞

.

Since Bellemere’s Orchard had remained closed that day, she decided to make a rather assertive move and arrive to the Thousand Sunny before her shift started. More than a little earlier, in fact, seeing that it was barely past noon. But, hey, can’t a girl be a little eager to check on her friends? So what if she was more a mess that she was a woman right now? Out of all the times in her life that she had looked like a total wreck, this was the only one that could possibly be justified by circumstance.

Happily trotting down the street, she dared to enjoy the little rays of sunshine that pierced through the incredibly tall buildings in the area. There, in the middle of a less than clean street, wearing some worn sweatpants and sneakers, hair in a messy updo and eyebags the size of an excavation site, she felt the lightest she had in _ages_. Gods, had the afternoon breeze always felt that amazing on her skin?

Earphones on and music blasting through them, she nearly skipped to the beat of the song playing. Did she really dare be that light-hearted in her situation, so carefree? Oh, that was logic talking, alright, but that little something that danced in her chest refused to listen.

She had just taken a turn right, thinking about nothing, really, when she caught sight of a little dandelion creeping its way through a crack in the concrete pavement. Such a dainty little thing, defying the odds of survival in a hard, uncaring place. It was almost metaphorical.

Much more prosaic was the tug of her heart at that moment. The flower’s own fragility made her think of other things brittle and frail. Suddenly, her mind took a darker chain of thought. Why hadn’t she checked the shop that morning? Maybe it was nothing, maybe everything was alright and she was being silly, but… But _what if_ …

She was running even before her brain could end that last sentence. For a fleeting moment, she thanked her past self for having worn sneakers. The shop wasn’t that far, only a couple of blocks away from where she currently was. She could make it there in less than five minutes, if her meagre lunch would do her the favour of staying down on her stomach. Just one more block now, a turn to the left, and‒

It was fine.

It was completely fine, not one thing out of place. The front door was closed, the shutter was down, and the pots by the entrance were lined up just like she liked. No scratch marks on the door that ruined the paint, no crashed windowpanes, no offending graffities.

She could have laughed, had she not been so out of breath.

She was being ridiculous, of course. All the distrust and paranoia had finally caught up to her. Well, better safe than sorry, was what they used to say. Joker could be a cruel motherfucker, but she hadn’t done anything to upset him.

Officially, at least.

With a last deep intake of breath, she set course again towards the bar. Silly, silly, so silly. And yet, the sudden feeling of dread that had encased her just a moment ago had been so intense ‒so _real_. Thank fuck it had amounted to nothing, in the end.

Hah, if only.

As it tended to happen, she didn’t realise how deep in shit she was until it was too late.

In retrospective, taking the shortcut was a bad idea. She had been aware of that, of course. Big girls knew too well the potential dangers of passing through isolated, narrow, dark streets like that one. But it was convenient, faster and ‒as she had naively thought‒ inconspicuous enough.

The massive frame was what she saw first. It wasn’t hard to spot, in truth. Machvise was a beast of a man. Whenever it was his turn to visit the shop, he always had a little trouble coming through the door. After, when Violet had been assigned to be her contact, she had been delighted by the change, for she had never liked the man. He was a brute, prone to the use of force and not at all interested in subtleties. She had been glad to lose sight of him.

Until now, apparently, because he was very much and very intently blocking her way.

“We’ve been told by a certain someone that you’re making business with the wrong people. Joker isn’t happy about that.” As always, he was straight to the point. A cruel smile had made a home out of his face, and he started getting closer.

She didn’t like it one bit.

“Well”, she tried to gain some time, thinking about a way out, “maybe if your boss _did_ actually pay me for my services, I wouldn’t have to keep a second job.” She was encased in between tall brick walls, and a powerhouse of a man right in front of her. The only way out of the trap she had stupidly walked into was at her back. “Tell me something, _Mac_. Why are you really here?”

The bastard lightened up like it was Christmas.

“To make sure you understand just how zealous Joker is about his affairs.”

She turned on her heels and bolted running with all she had. Machvise was big and muscular, which made him slower than her on an average day. But in the cramped space of the alleyway, and with him so close as he had been standing, it only took him a couple of strides to catch up. She didn’t really had the chance to actually start running before the brute hit her with an all-out blow.

The hit was so powerful that she came tumbling down, losing her balance. She hit her head against the brick wall on her way down to the filthy floor, and for an agonising second everything was consumed by a white light. When she was able to focus her sight again enough to see defined shapes, Joker’s enforcer was on her with a manic expression painted on his face.

He hit her cheekbone without a second thought. Then, he roughly grabbed her hair and tugged her halfway up. She felt her scalp give by the tender spot on her head.

She did the least sensible thing then, and spat at him.

Machvise rewarded her with a kick in the ribs. On her part, she didn’t really feel anything past that point, debating between the need to breathe again and the urge to throw up. Above her, he talked while he roughened her body with no hint of remorse, but she couldn’t bring herself to pay attention.

All she could do was curl into a little ball on the floor and wait for the storm to pass.

.

∞

.

She tumbled trough the Thousand Sunny, balance a bit uneasy. Without bothering to turn the lights on, she used whatever sunlight was still entering through the windows to make her way towards the storage room. Her right cheek was needing some ice, desperately. After taking care of that, she’d have to clean herself of the blood and grime that covered her skin and clothes. However, some of the hits she had received were meant to bruise and therefore be very, very eye-catching.

She winced at the thought, and not because of the pain throbbing in her body. How was she going to explain that to the others? Nami would skin her alive. Maybe her friend would be kind enough to wait until she went to the hospital to smother her in her own medical bills, because she was half sure some of the cuts would need stitches, and‒

‘ _Gods, what a way to end the week_.’

One of the fridges made a quiet buzzing noise when she opened its door; the cold coming out of it was a relief on her heated skin. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, enjoying the rare and calm moment.

But if what she was looking for had been reprieve of some sort, she very much did not find it.

“Can you open one of those beers for me? I’m thirsty.”

As fast as her reflexes allowed, she turned around, eyes going wide open with surprise.

Behind her, in one of the corners of the dark room, was a figure in tattered clothes, one she had never seen before. Its yellow, weaselly eyes were fixed on her.

She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Seeing her distress, the person at the back began screaming too. The shrill sound only added to her own fear, and she really had had a bad fucking day, so, in place of just standing there like a loud idiot, she took the nearest object in hand and chuck it in the stranger’s general direction.

A crash and a wail could be heard, but she wasted no time checking out the outcome. Instead she bolted through the door, intending to call anyone, when she suddenly came face to chest with a body. The force of the collision made her land unceremoniously on her butt.

“Sunny-ya?”

Trafalgar was there, watching her with a discombobulated expression. He was panting and very much naked from the waist up. It was kind of obvious that he had come running from upstairs as soon as he had heard the commotion.

“What‒ Are you alright? Did Caesar do that to you?”

She mentally cursed herself for her inability to take her eyes off the swirling black heart tattooed on his pectorals ‒although, in her defence, it was very distracting.

‘That bully must have hit me harder than I had thought.’

She pointed with a finger towards the storage room. “Is that thing what you call ‘Caesar’?”

“I am not a _thing_! I’m a character of genius and will be treated with the respect I deserve, or else‒”

“Yes, that’s him.”

“What, what, what!? What’s happening!?”

Luffy came down like a whirlwind, nearly topping off several crates that were lined in the hallway. She was still on the floor when the young man finally arrived, eyes sparkling in excitement. Usopp and Sanji came down too ‒the first trembling in fear, and the second looking fairly pissed. That is, until he saw her.

“My beautiful angel! What has this brute done to you?”

“I’m fine, Sanji”, she mumbled while the blond helped her up. But he was, apparently, having none of it.

“You weirdo”, he irately munched on his cigarette, poking Law in the chest. “I thought we had made this clear. If you ever touch the lady again‒”

“Sanji! It wasn’t him!”, she tried to explain.

“Caesar’s still tied down and good back there, so I’m assuming it wasn’t him, either.” Usopp seemed a lot calmer now that he had assessed there was no immediate threat to his life.

From the storage room came a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously similar to the words ‘bitch broke my nose’.

Trafalgar Law had never looked so smooth as when he said to Sanji: “Bet you feel like an ass now”.

The blond practically growled. “Whatever. It still doesn’t explain why she looks like she’s taken a beating.”

“That might be… because I have?”

Usopp, by her side, almost chocked on his own tongue. “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t tell me it was Doflamingo!”

“Technically, it wasn’t him, but one of his men.”

A loud cracking sound could be heard when Luffy readied his fists in a battle stance.

“I’ll pummel that stupid flamingo for hurting my friend!” Luffy lashed out, all murderous glance and righteous fury. It took all of Law’s reasoning and a fair amount of physical effort to keep him from running out of the door.

“If this is because of what happened last night, the bastard acts fast.”

The uncertain way Sanji was eyeing her made a shiver run down her back. It was almost out of character to see him act so serious and worried. She found she preferred his flirtatious and careless persona ‒as surprising a revelation as it was.

“Don’t worry, it’s not related. I was going to tell you the details, but things got…” She eyed Luffy, who was still fuming near the entrance. “A little hectic.”

Sanji nodded, trying to look smooth but failing miserably. The compulsive way he was taking drags from his cigarette sort of gave him away. She felt really bad for worrying him, so instead of sulking, she opted for a change of topic.

“You guys have to tell me all about last night, by the way. And maybe explain why there’s a… _man_ prisoner in my workplace?”

“Yeah, that would be the sensible thing to do.”

“Not before she gets tended to”, Trafalgar spoke up. “I don’t think her injuries are serious, but that should come first to anything else.”

“It’s alright”, she tried to argue, even though she should have known better, really. “I don’t feel like going to the hospital right n‒”

“No hospital needed. I’ll do it myself.”

She was left speechless at that. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye while stating that. It had already been decided without her consent. A part of her felt like objecting, as much as it was petty to deny his offer.

“But Chopper can‒”

“He’s asleep”, he cut her again. He paused in the middle of the stairs just to look back at her. “Are you afraid I’ll extirpate your kidneys to sell or something?”

She remained silent for a moment, not knowing whether he looked more affronted or self-satisfied at the lack of answer, the little shit. Finally, she groaned in acquiescence.

“Fine. But I’ll scream if something feels off.”

He shrugged non-committedly and started climbing the stairs again, her trailing behind.

There was a tattoo on his back, too.

.

∞

.

“Is this where you’re crashing nowadays?”

She didn’t know why she was surprised. Nami had told her before that Trafalgar didn’t want his own gang involved in the Doflamingo Affair, as she had gotten to call it inside her own head. So, it only made sense that he wasn’t living at his usual place, seeing as it could be easily compromised. Besides, getting a place to sleep above the Thousand Sunny had his tactical perks, since he got to be with his allies all the time.

Maybe what was really shocking to her was that the stoic young man was ready to compromise his sanity for sharing his living space with Luffy and the others. And he actually seemed fine with it, too! Life was full of surprises.

The room was tiny, being fair. Since all of the other bedrooms were taken, and everyone was already sharing bed with at least another person, the newcomer had to take the cramped room that was next to the kitchen, where only a twin bed and a few other commodities could fit.

Trafalgar was showing her his back while he rummaged through his things. Hearing her question, and not really minding that it was probably rhetorical, he shrugged.

“I’ve been in more awful places. This isn’t bad at all”, was all that he said.

She didn’t think it was her place to pry.

“I didn’t mean it like that”, she said with a meek voice, suddenly embarrassed. “I guess I was just surprised, that’s all.”

He turned back, now with a shirt on, and fixed her with that stare that he seemed to like so much. The one that seemed to say that he thought she had more than one screw loose in her head. Strangely, it didn’t feel as aggressive as it used to, just intrigued.

“I’m assuming you know where the bathroom is?” She nodded her head. “Good. Go take a shower, try to take as much grime off from you without upsetting the wounds.”

Not waiting for an answer this time around, he was already leaving the room.

“Wait, where are you going?” She didn’t know why, but suddenly she felt extremely anxious about the idea of being left alone.

“I’ll ask Nami-ya for some clothes for you”, he sighed. “I’m guessing she won’t be pleased when I tell her why I need them.”

She gulped an iron ball down her throat. No, she wouldn’t.

.

∞

.

Spoiler alert: she _absolutely_ was not.

“I can’t really fucking believe it! In plain daylight no less! Sister, you’re never leaving this place alone ever again if I can help it. That motherfucking psycho-murderer, son of a stupid-ass-looking bird! I will… I will… Argh!”

With a pout rivalling that of the most spoiled child in the universe, Nami sat down on the toilet seat. The redhead had stormed into the bathroom as soon as Trafalgar had come knocking on her bedroom door with the latest news. She hadn’t cared about the fact that the door had been closed, or that her friend had been in the middle of a compromising shower.

“It’s fine, Nami. There’s nothing you can do now.”

“I can charge him a damned trillion beri for damages, that’s what I can do!”

She was being downright absurd now, they both knew. But if that served for the redhead to let out some of her frustrations, then so be it. She didn’t want her friend feeling guilty for what had happened, since it wasn’t really her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s, except hers and, of course, Joker’s.

Nevertheless, Nami had already entered into Mum-Mode.

“You’re spending the night here.” She stood with her arms crossed, not leaving room for an argument on her part. “No excuses, no buts. We’re keeping an eye out for you from now on, and if you don’t like it, well ‒that sucks for you.”

She then walked towards the door, that she had previously opened with a kick, leaving her naked and a little thrown-off in the shower.

“Next time”, she added before leaving, in a tiny voice, “try not to let them get to you, yeah?”

She felt the sudden urge to cry.

“Yeah.”

Then, Nami left. She resumed her work on the stinging wound on her scalp when another figure appeared at the partially open door.

“Nami-ya told me you were done with-“

“Get OUT!”

.

∞

.

An awkward apology and some twenty minutes later, she was sat in Trafalgar’s room again. The bed was neatly made, and actually the only piece of furniture large enough to allow both of them to sit.

She was clad in a pair of Nami’s very short shorts and a loose shirt with tiny pineapples on it, courtesy of Franky. She had thoroughly refused to wear the skimpy top her female friend had offered her in good intention, but their taste in clothing couldn’t be more far apart.

Besides, having the mob boss seated so close to her and examining her bruised body with a critical eye was unsettling enough already without exposing too much skin.

“Whoever attacked you certainly did a number on you.” He had all of his attention on the cut in her scalp, a nasty gaze that was actually pretty shallow, but bled like a bitch. It was a thin red line that run along her hairline, and it stung with each dab from the alcohol-soaked gauze.

“Is that your approach to small talk?” She joked, but Trafalgar kept stubbornly quiet. She was beginning to suspect that was his way of preserving his pride at being caught at fault. “It was a guy ‒they call him Machvise. I’ve known him for maybe a year. Never liked him.”

Law fell back to examine his handiwork.

“You can consider yourself lucky, then. I’ve seen him pummel people until there was nothing but a bloody pulp remaining.”

“You know him?”

He hummed. “For a long time, sadly. He gave me a scar when I was twelve and we were playing.”

There was a sudden burst of an invisible energy between the two. She hadn’t expected him to reveal so much about him, much less such sensitive information. Clearly, he hadn’t intended on it, either, if the look of regret on his face was something to go by. Maybe he had been too distracted by his work on her damaged body to put attention on the meaningless chatter.

Law felt some kind of raw emotion he didn’t care to name creeping from the pit of his stomach. That woman was looking up at him with those big, knowing eyes that made him want to lower his carefully built barriers. But thanks to years of discipline he managed to put himself back together. That moment of whatever _that_ was had disturbed him momentarily, but it was easy enough to fall back again into his detached, confident attitude.

Silently, he began to put the butterfly stitches on her forehead.

On her side, she felt clumsy and tactless. It was a painful evidence that she kept saying the wrong thing whenever it came to Trafalgar Law. She wished he weren’t so secretive ‒maybe then it would be easier to _actually_ talk to him, get to know him and trust him fully. Although, if she was being honest with herself, they way he showed concern over her -in his own, very particular way- and was ready to take care of her injuries, sort of made her unconscious mind be a tad less guarded around him.

Was that such a bad thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Nami, I see what you did there.


End file.
